Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia and Increased Scalp Sweating: Is Neurogenic Inflammation the Common Link?

Frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA) is an uncommon scarring hair loss disorder that is characterized by a band-like recession of the frontal hair line with eyebrow hair loss. We present a series of patients with FFA and increased sweating predominantly localized to the scalp, and potential explanations for this association are discussed. We hypothesize that the reported increase in sweating seen in our patients may be in part related to the inflammatory process occurring locally within the skin, either inducing a local axonal sweating reflex or through direct modulation of sweat gland secretion by neuropeptides.